Blog
My last post about the state of African elephant poaching discussed the latest CITES report showing that less elephants are now being poached now than during the poaching peak in 2007, but also highlighted the fact that while some countries are doing better in terms of poaching (e.g. Kenya), others are still in big trouble and it's no time to be complacent. Overall, there are still more elephants being poached than there are being born. Tanzania's elephant population has taken a big hit and remains under serious threat for the ivory trade.
CITES' latest report on the results of the MIKE (Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants) programme has some good news in it for elephant populations and some not so good. The overall number of elephants being killed for ivory has stabilised, after a peak in 2011, but there are still more elephants killed every year than are born (see BBC story).
I posted an article on my Facebook page from National Geographic last week about young gorillas seen dismantling poachers' snares for the first time. It suggests that the youngsters knew how dangerous the traps were and researchers said they may have done it before, given how quickly they dismantled it. For a critically endangered species with less than 900 left in the wild, this is a good sign because with such low numbers we really can't afford to lose any wild gorillas, especially the next generation.
- Comment Thread:
- Comments: Maggie Knewstub | Yes! Confirmation.
- Comments: Tammie | Excellent news Mags! First Namibian dunes, second gorillas!
Happy new year and here's hoping your year has lots of inspiration and adventures of the African kind in it!
It's that time of year again, and it seems to have crept up so quickly (or maybe I'm just getting old!). Now at the end of our second year in business at Matson & Ridley Safaris, Andy and I wanted to thank you for your support and to wish you a wonderful Christmas and new year. I've put together this short video (scroll down to see it), which I hope you'll enjoy, sharing a few special memories of my adventures with you in the last couple of years in Botswana, Kenya and Namibia. Thanks to all who shared their photos for this, but in particular a big thanks to all the people who made these journeys so wonderful in Africa's most incredible wild destinations!